Nigerian Flight Deck Travel and Business Reportage
Federal government has officially granted approval authorising Lagos State to embark on the development of a passenger and cargo airport on the Lekki-Epe axis of the State.
The Minister for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, presented the document to the Governor on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari at the ongoing Lagos Economic Summit (Ehingbeti) 2022 taking place at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island.
Lagos Government initiated the aviation project, through a Public Private Partnership (PPP), in response to the pace of development on Lekki-Epe axis, which is now a fast-growing hub of commerce and industrial activities. The entire airport infrastructure will be sited on 3,500 hectares, with the first phase of the project estimated to cost $900 million.
Some private consortia have already expressed their interests in developing the airport, but Lagos government was yet to decide on which investors to partner on aviation infrastructure.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu who received the federal government’s instrument authorising the state to commence the airport project yesterday described the approval as another, “successful step forward” towards delivering his administration’s agenda of Greater Lagos and keeping the State on the path of irreversible economic prosperity.
He said: “Granting the licence for the airport project is a right step in the right direction. For us, it is all about partnership for the greater good of our State. The real beneficiaries are the citizens and the businesses that will be using the infrastructure to activate more economic prosperity.
“We are bringing the government to tap business opportunities, while also providing platforms for businesses to flourish. That is how great economies are developed.
“The foundation of growth is building requisite infrastructure and creating platforms for businesses to thrive. This aviation infrastructure will reduce journey time and make commercial hubs in Lagos easily accessible. It would help investors to make best local and international business decisions, given all the investments that have been brought to the Lekki Free Trade Zone.”
Sirika said the federal mandate to Lagos Government on the airport project enjoyed accelerated approval, because of the growing need to further link Lagos and the south-west to international markets and regional trade.The project, the Aviation minister said, would transform the GDP of Lagos and create jobs for the national economy. He said the airport would complement the existing Murtala Muhammed International Airport whose operation is overstretched.
“There has been an expansion in Lagos, from Eko Atlantic City to Lekki Free Trade Zones. This growth necessitated the need for another airport in Lagos. We will deploy our statutory agencies to ensure the project is done in compliance with international standards,” Sirika said.
Declaring the two-day summit open, Sanwo-Olu said Lagos had begun its race to building a prosperous future with the introduction of a 30-year growth plan that would bring the State on the same pedestal with developed cities in 2052.
He said the government’s pathways to the future were planned based on the projection of creating and implementing localised solutions within the context of unique socio-economic realities facing the State.
